


Calm Me Down

by NescientAtaraxy



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Gangbang, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, M/M, Xeno, dubcon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-02-02
Updated: 2014-02-25
Packaged: 2018-01-10 21:50:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 8,124
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1164941
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NescientAtaraxy/pseuds/NescientAtaraxy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Your name is KARKAT VANTAS and you live in an ALTERNATE UNIVERSE where trolls are now living among THE HUMANS. You work in a SMALL COFFEE SHOP. You cannot afford a HUMAN HIVE of your own, so you have acquired a ROOMATE to split the cost. This ROOMATE happens to be your best friend, SOLLUX CAPTOR. He drives you UP A FUCKING WALL.</p><p>(Very much on hiatus until further notice)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Dragged

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first fanfic I've ever posted. I've had this idea in mind for awhile.

You sit on the couch in the living room, watching another romcom on your laptop. You would be super entranced in the story and lovey-dovey plot, had your roomate not been having extremely loud sex in his bedroom. Even with your headphones in you could barely hear anything but their session. These noises are only okay when they're coming from your movies. It was even worse that you could feel your nook start to tingle.

Heavy moans come from the bedroom down the hall. “You like that, yeah? ... Stheee, thisth will thshow you who'th bosth!” God, how could anyone find that lisp attractive? You roll your eyes, turn up the volume as loud as it will go. You can feel the sound pumping out of the earphones, but it's still not enough to drown out the cries coming form down the hall. Whoever he was pailing, this certainly couldn't be a human, no human could take the amount of black romance trolls can give. Not to mention trolls' claws can be deadly on human skin. You shut your laptop in defeat and decide to go for a walk. You could hear the grunts up until you closed the front door. 

When you returned, you were shocked to meet Eridan on his way out the door. He gave you a nervous half-smile, his face flushing that awful shade of purple. You returned the gesture with an annoyed groan. He started to walk faster.

“God damnit you nooksmoking fuckbitching assgrab!” You shouted, pushing a shirtless Sollux onto the wall. You held him there firmly, your own claws digging into his bite mark-clad shoulders and your fangs barred. “Could you have not at least warned me before you had an intimate pailing session with that stupid fucking walking fashion disaster?! Seriously! You're such a fucking ignorant shit-stain, and now you're pailing that seahumping vomit-inducing jerkfuck as loud as you possibly can?!” You were screaming so loud that your voice crackled and wavered. 

“Aw, you jealouth or thomethin', KK?” he alleged, wearing a stupid shit-eating grin. This only served to infuriate you more, and you shook him once to slam him against the wall again. He laughed at this, at you, as you growled. You reared back your fist and sent it hurling straight into his stomach, feeling the pop of his ribs giving way and hearing the guttural moan escape from his lips. That made you feel better, way better. You drove your knee into his crotch, making him yelp. You grabbed one of his larger horns and smashed his head into the wall. Pulling your hand away, you push your bangs from your eyes and let your roommate drop to the floor.

You stare down at him. He pushes his glasses back up onto his face and you can see the crackling of red and blue on his hands. Oh, shit. He stands himself up, faltering sightly only to find his balace again as he clenches his fists. He grabs the collar of your shirt, pulling your face just inches from his. You can still smell the seadweller on him as he spits out that you're going to regret that.

“KK, you really need to get laid. Get the angry fucked right out of you.” You suddenly realise your horrible, horrible mistake. He drags you by your collar and you struggle. He seems unphased by your flailing and protesting as he yanks you down the street. You ask where he's taking you. Maybe he would have actually told you if you had used nice words. But your anger was getting the best of you, so the reply you got was a simple “you'll see.”

Before you turn a corner, he turns to you and urges you to calm down. “You'll like thith, truthst me.” he reassures you. You might as well humour him, if anything. You wiggle free from his grip and straighten out your shirt and fix your hair. You follow him to the side of a building. The sign out front is neon purple, but it's too far in your peripheral vision to be legible. You keep your eyes fixed ahead as you enter a line with Sollux, it's boundaries marked by velvet rope. It doesn't take long for you to reach the front, where a tall and well-built troll stands by a door. He waves you and Sollux in, nodding at your friend and smiling like they know each other. 

You entered the dimly lit space. You can make out a bar spread along one wall, and a raised middle platform with a group of rhythmically moving bodies. You take your eyes off the bouncing mass and you spot a section of plush couches and square tables. Some couches were occupied by bodies grinding each other with furious passion. You understand why Sollux brought you here now. You feel a hand on your back, urging you near the mass. No, dancing is not your thing. You protest, but that only makes him push further. When your chest collides with the squirming blob of trolls and humans, Sollux yells into the crowd. 

“I've got a friend here who's an angry little shit and he needs to get fucked!” Wow, blunt. Only a small few manage to hear him over the pulsing bass of the music, but their attention is immediately turned to you. You swallow thickly. This was going to be a long night.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the porn chapter. Warning for xeno (kinda? tentabulges involved. gang bang is a thing that is totally happening.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've finally updated! School, finals and work got the best of me. After this, updates will be way more frequent, I promise. Thanks to everyone's who's left kudos. As always, comments are appreciated.

You watch your roommate walk away from the crowd towards the bar as firm hands are placed on your shoulders. You try to spin, but opt to tilt your head back instead. You can see a tall troll smirking down at you, hair slicked back like you see in your 50's romcoms, cigarette hanging from his mouth. 

“A Vantas, eh?” he acknowledged, palming your sensitive horns. You shuddered. “Wvell now, this is just too perfect.” You noticed his accent that wavered and stuttered on the w. In a practiced movement, he slips your shirt over your head. Those staring at you seem way more interested now.

You feel his crotch press up against your ass, his tentabulge already writhing within his pants. His hands hold your chest to keep you steady and he leans into your ear. You feel his tongue ick around your ear and you shudder, squirming slightly at the strange sensation. It is not entirely unpleasant, however. Maybe Sollux does know what he's talking about.

Now there's a human working at removing your jeans. Out of the corner of your eye you see that Sollux has picked up your clothes, thankfully. One your jeans are off, you can feel the human's fingers massaging your nook and you let out an accidental moan. The human smiles at you, his orange eyes looking you over, up and down. You feel your face flush hot.

You are unprepared when his tongue hits your nook. You moan louder and shiver, the seadweller behind you laughing to himself at your reactions. You clench and unclench your fists as his tongue works it's way between your folds. Slowly, his mouth becomes painted with the red-tinged fluid leaking from you. Your bulge is working it's way out of it's sheath and tangling itself in his blond hair.

Your eyes flutter closed as your roll your hips on his mouth. This human was good, and you didn't know how much longer you could last. The seadweller must have detected how shaky your breath was becoming, because he urged this human to stop. No, no. You wanted it to last forever. You open your eyes in time to see the human leaning in to kiss you. He plunges his tongue in your mouth, forcing you to taste yourself. 

You whimper as you see him walk back into the crowd. The troll behind you snakes his fingers down your chest and uses your own lubrication to slowly slide them into your nook. You needed to be stretched, of course. His mouth is biting and licking at your neck, an action that causes you to instinctively relax. You hate your instincts sometimes. 

His fingers retreat when another troll approaches you. The seadweller spins you around and bends you at the hips, unzipping his pants and nudging his bulge at your mouth. No way. However, you open your mouth as you gasp when a bulge is slid into your nook, giving him the perfect opportunity to force his bulge into your mouth.

You knew that biting was only going to get you in trouble, which you were trying to avoid. You watch your fangs and struggle to suck. Your skills (or lack thereof) don't matter it seems, because your mouth is being fucked almost as hard as your nook. You were both grateful and hating that your nook could stretch to accommodate such a thick bulge.

You can't say you don't like the feeling. You love it, actually. The gentle stretch was pleasant, and on occasion the troll would thrust into just the right spot. Sometimes the seadweller would thrust too far and make you gag, but you can't say you didn't like that feeling either. 

The amount of cum that the troll behind you produces was shocking to say the least. You feel as through you can't hold it all, but to your amazement your seedflap takes it all in. You shudder at the feeling of being so full. You think that's the end for tonight and begin to pull your mouth away from the bulge that's fucking it, but you only hear a surprising reply:

“Nuh-uh, chief. Wve're not done wvith you, yet.”

You feel another bulge poking at your nook. Only this one was long and thin, blunt at the tip and not tapered like usual. This must be a human bulge. It feels less full in your nook, but it still gives you immense pleasure (especially since you're so sensitive now and extra-aroused). When it hits your full seed flap, you moan and buck your hips backwards on a whim. You can't help it – it feels amazing. The human must realise this as he pounds that spot over and over. You're so close, just a few more thrusts and he'd tip you right over the edge. Come on, come on...

Wait, why is he stopping? You feel him pull out of you and you whimper at the loss. You attempt to turn around to see what's going on, but only manage to get far enough to see the blonde human who was so readily eating you out walking back into the crowd.

“Hey, easy, kiddo. Humans cum by the spoonfuls, not the bucket loads like us.” This made you feel glad, at least you wouldn't have to worry about how much your seedflap can hold. His bulge is pushed further into your mouth and you feel it writhe and squirm. You want to pull away but his hand is preventing you from it. In the next few seconds, you feel his cum shoot down your throat. Some of it dribbles out the sides of your mouth. He grips your hair and pulls out. You swallow as much as you can.

He leans down to eye-level and smiles. He commends you for doing a good job, and rubs your hair. Now you're done. You start to stand, wiping away the purple cum from your mouth. You need a bucket this second. When you turn, you bump straight into a tall, thin troll.

“Now, where do you think you're going, little bro?”

You crane your neck up to his face. You're met with messy black hair that's messier than yours. Long, thin and curved horns that tower over your own, making you slightly jealous. This troll would be absolutely terrifying with his half-lidded gaze had his face not been obscenely painted like a monochrome clown.

He walks towards you, causing you to instinctively walk backwards in defence. You're pushed back onto one of the empty couches and he climbs on top of you, wasting no time and diving straight to kiss at your neck. You try to protest, telling him that you've already been taken plenty good care of. But he's having none of it, pinning your wrists above your head. 

He's kissing your mouth now, plunging his tongue inside of it, preventing any further protesting from you. He reaches down and dribbles off his own pants. His bulge wraps around yours and they flail together, desperate and heated. He's grinding into you now, hard and needy. This troll is different, he's pailing you with a loving passion that you've never felt before.

His bulge finds its way inside of you, reaching deeper than the last. When it curls up against your seedflap it's amost too much – he pulls away. “Not yet, I'm not motherfucking done.” He curls it away – damn bastard – and his mouth is crashed back to yours. He hardly thrusts and prefers to leave it writhing inside of you. It's a different kind of stretch, but it's by far your favourite of this evening.

In a few minutes he's moaning too, purely engulfed in his own pleasure. The music and crowd fade from your mind and it's only you two left. You don't even know his name and you're sure you're feeling red for him. Your mind starts to go blank again and you squirm, flailing around like an awkward wiggler because you're sure you're going to cum any second now. You push back onto him, forcing his bulge all the way to the hilt. It curls and hits your seedflap, sending wave after wave of pleasure through your system. 

Every nerve is on fire and you have your first real orgasm. Not self-induced and totally, totally worth it. You feel him start to cum too, his bulge pulsating inside of you. He moans into your mouth one last time and grinds his hips into you hard and slow. He rides it out, grunting as you're being filled with even more. You don't know how you can take any more, but your seedflap takes in what it can (which is all of it).

You're sure you're done now because Sollux is walking over to you. The troll who you were just pailing is putting on his pants. Before he leaves, he leans over and kisses your cheek, making you blush even more than you did on the dancefloor. Sollux pick you up bridal-style and carries you through the club to a door in the back. You are limp, groggy and totally out of it. He sets you down in a room made of tile and shuts the heavy door, locking it. He folds your clothes and sets them in a corner, taking off everything but his boxers. You're too relaxed to make a comment.

“Heh, I knew that would work. You jutht needed to get laid,” he says. You still stay silent. He props you up against the wall, the cold tile making you hiss. It's only temporary though. He braces you on his shoulder, placing the bucket between your legs. “Now, bare with me, KK,” he assured you, before his hand is dipping down to your nook and you shake your head because oh no not again you cannot do this you are done for the night.

He shoves two fingers into your nook and tells you to relax. He pushes them deep and starts massaging your seedflap, and it still feels good but in a different way now. You start to whimper again but he shooshes you and encourages you to let it all go. You're only slightly embarrassed when you do, the cloudy mixture pouring into the bucket. When this one starts to overflow, he places a second one beneath you and washes his hands while he waits for you to finish.

He pours the buckets down the drain and washes you off. He dries you with a warm towel, and dresses you again. The last thing you experience before you fall asleep is being slung over his shoulder. The last thought you have? He's strong, for a computer nerd.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is where the porn ends.
> 
> Sorry guys.

You wake up in a daze, but it's still dark outside. There’s no denying it anymore: you’re hungry. You huff and drag yourself out of bed. The groggy feeling that plagues you makes it especially difficult to peel off your damp clothes and change into something dry and warm. You go for your usual garb, grabbing a sweater to keep warm and take your wallet and keys from the counter. You assumed Sollux and that hipster prick were still in Sollux’s room. You head out the door.

The night air was chill and brisk so you hunch up your shoulders to keep your neck warm. Maybe that explains the dumb turtlenecks your ancestor always wears. Walking to the store was almost enough exercise for the rest of your life, not to mention the walk back that you were now dreading. You grab a few small snack items, nothing too healthy, and make your way back. You take alley routes instead, hoping that the tall brick walls will block off some of the wind.

You’ve never felt as intimidated by the dark alleys as your computer-loving nerd roommate. You pass many things. Broken needles, passed out humans, vomit, a few of the trolls who have fallen into human drug culture… but none were as surprising as you saw behind a dumpster. Hidden among the piles of tattered blankets were two familiar horns; thin, curved and tall. The nest of black messy hair that lay at the base was recognizable and unique to one troll you knew. Although this troll’s face is obscured, you knew exactly who it is: the troll from the club.

He looks cold and sick. You lean down, give him a hesitant tap on the shoulder. He stirs but does not awaken. You tap him again firmly a few times. This succeeds, and he turns   
to look at you. His eyes are glazed and you are face to face with the half-lidded stare you were all too familiar with.

“Well then, if it ain’t that angry little brother from last night. What would you be all up and doing around this part of town, my most wicked friend?” he asked, clearly less out of it than he seemed.

“I, uh, was taking a shortcut home,” you explain. “Do you, uh, need somewhere to stay?” you ask him. You’re not really sure if Sollux would approve, but you really did care for him (as stupid as that made you feel). You could always bring up the subject of Eridan to shut him up, as it so often did..You were shocked when he actually accepted.

“As long as I ain’t intrudin’ on a brother, I’d be more than happy to oblige.”

You help him up, his weight mostly supported on your shoulders as you trudge both him and your bag back to your apartment. You take the elevator mainly because you can’t drag his weight up all those stairs. You tell this troll to be quiet before you enter, letting him know that you have a roommate you would rather not piss off at this moment. Once inside, you lock the door and move him as quickly as you can to your room. You don’t even care when you slam the door behind you. 

He’s so dazed that you can flop him on the bed effortlessly. He lands with a thud, the bedsprings creaking softly. You sit beside him and place your bag on the floor. He turns to look at you and you bury your head in your hands. 

“What the hell have you been doing with your life?” He looks at you with his head cocked like a confused puppy. “You are such a fucking dumbass excuse for any troll possessing a thinkpan,” you begin again, your concern and care masked by your defensive anger. He watches you carefully as you grunt in frustration and rub your hands on your temples.  
He grins your way. “So that’s why your moirail was so eager to hand you off the other night.” An accurate remark if not for the word moirail. Wait – did people really think that? 

You shake it off for now. 

“He’s not my – look, that’s no concern of yours. Shove it down that caliginous windhole of yours before I shove it for you.”

“Aw, you like me.”

You sigh. This was going to be the second long night in a row. It would have been shorter before you heard a knock at your door. Great. The familiar lisping drawl asking what was going on in there that rang through your door was enough to set your rage on fire. You shoot up and open the door as wide as you can without revealing the troll on your bed.

“None of your goddamn business, you bee-loving fuck!” you spit out. Watching his angered expression turn into a smirk made your heart sink and drop. Oops, opened it too far.

“Well well well, look who’th finally getting thome on his own!” teased your roommate. You slam the door straight into his face. You assume the sound of retreating footsteps means you’re in the clear.

“Heh, do you wanna be red with your little bee-bro over there?”

Fantastic. Now this troll was teasing you, too. If you didn’t actually care about his safety he’d be out on the street again. You reach into your plastic grocery bag and toss him a small bag of chips. He looks at you, questioning.

“Some salty human treat,” you wave off. “Just eat them, you ungrateful fuck.”

He downs the bag faster than you get angry.

“I never said I was ungrateful, brother. I am plenty grateful. Are you gonna kick me out?” Now he’s testing you. This is getting better and better. You furrow your brows and form your mouth into a slight snarl. He raises from the bed, seemingly more energetic now. When he stands up straight you realize he’s a good foot taller than you. His lanky frame saunters towards you, his hand raises and you expect to be hit. Instead, he just gives your face a gentle pap.

You calm down almost instantly and he pulls you into a soft embrace. He buries his head in your hair and runs his long thing fingers down your back. You shiver instinctively.  
He leans down and whispers, “I was just joking, chillax.”

Suddenly you feel that this troll may not be as bad as you had previously thought.


	4. Chapter 4

You had both gone to sleep as far away from each other as you could manage, back to back and a world of space between you. You wake up totally intertwined, your head on his chest and your leg draped over his. His arm is wrapped around your shoulders and you hate to admit that it feels nice. After a few more minutes in this guilty bliss, you wriggle free. He does not wake, however, even as you open the door and head to the kitchen.

Sollux and Eridan are already awake, sitting together at the table to eat their breakfast. You head straight to the coffee machine and pour yourself a cup. You drink it black and when someone would ask why, you respond that it’s bitter – like you. You really prefer it sweet and laoded with cream and sugar, but you could never let anyone know.

“Ith your boyfriend awake yet, KK?” comes a silent laughter of a remark.

“Oh shut up, he’s not my boyfriend.”

“Really? Because I havwe hear otherwvise.” They snicker together and you slam your fists down onto the table. You yell one final time for them to shut up. Just then, your new friend lazily and groggily makes his way into the kitchen.

“What’s with all this ‘shut up’ noise?” he asks, smiling and walking over to you. Oh no. Oh no no no. He takes you by the shoulders, leans down a bit and paps you again. They both laugh again, but you’re too calm to care. “There you go, brother. You just need to all up and calm the motherfuck down.”

You take a deep breath and turn back to your roomates. “This is, uh…” you stammer, realizing you never asked his name.

“Gamzee,” he answers for you, finishing your thought. 

You nod. When they smile in unison you add that no, he is not in any of your quadrants. He’s just someone you know, an acquaintance if you will. Gamzee looks a little disappointed. You pretend not to notice. 

“Really? Cauthe I thaw you two goin at it pretty hard at the club,” Sollux winks at you.

“I said SHUT UP!” you lunge forward at him and send him toppling to the ground. Gamzee steps forward, but Eridan waves him off.

“Let them go at it, they’ll wvork it out.”

Gamzee turns his attention back to the writhing mess that is you and Sollux. He turns to Eridan and mumbles something about the caliginous quadrant, though Eridan denies it. You try to focus on beating the shit out of your roommate, but after the fourth punch you stand up, panting heavily. The small amount of yellow that drips from his face is a sure sign that you stop. You extend your hand and help him up, his own hand busy with wiping the blood from his mouth. 

“See? I told you they’d wvork it out. It nevwer lasts long.”

Gamzee smiles, taking you in his arms again. You roll your eyes at no one in particular as you’re embraced again. You mouth the words “I don’t know” and shrug to the lovers in front of you, when in reality your heart is beating as fast as it did when you woke up cuddling Gamzee. A thousand things that were racing through your mind just stop and are replaced by one thought:

There is no way you can be falling flushed for Gamzee. No way. Not in a billion sweeps.

Fuck. 

Your roommates are still smiling when he runs his long fingers through your hair.

Your roommates are still smiling when you make a sound akin to a purr.


	5. Chapter 5

The first day with Gamzee was exhausting to say the least. Despite his laid back disposition, his energy knows no bounds and he can talk for hours. It had only been an hour into breakfast, you manning the stove and cooking up some round white chicken babies (you’ll never fully understand humans), and he was still going on about miracles. This guy and motherfuckin’ miracles. Not that you minded, the groggy fluctuating tone his voice is comprised of was one that made you happy, as much as you would outwardly deny it if ever brought up.  
   
The only time he shut up was to shovel food into his mouth. You knew a few things about him, mainly that he could talk for hours, he was slow and gentle, and his stomach was apparently a black hole that could never be filled. His body retained that lanky physique no matter how many donuts were shoveled down his windhole.    
   
Your own plate was eaten slowly and carefully. You have a habit of spilling everywhere if you eat at the pace you like, that is to say messy and quick. Gamzee ate quicker than you usually do, but each movement was practiced and precise. Everything he did struck you as practiced and precise now that you think about it. You were only half angry at the fact you found him graceful.  
   
You had nothing planned for today, today was a resting day. Gamzee himself did not seem to mind this. He sat quietly with you as you indulged in movie after movie, romcom after drama after kismessisirom. This you also enjoyed.  
   
What you didn’t enjoy was his persistence to cuddle with you at every opportunity. His arm would snake around you, pulling you close. No matter how many times you slowly wiggled away, he would shift closer. Actually, you liked this about him. You liked cuddling with him. If you were really against it, you would have hit him. You conclude you were only really angry at him if you guys got caught.  
   
What can you say? You can dish the teasing, but you can’t take it.  
   
Sollux and Eridan had left after breakfast. Work things, you assume. Your minimum wage part-time job was the reason you had to even share an apartment with this asshole, two-fold. By the time Sollux came home, he was alone. You figured Eridan actually stayed over at his hive for the night for once in his goddamn life, but you weren’t too sure if something had happened between them.   
   
“Why the hell ith it tho dark in here?” You hear the clinking of keys on a table and the thunk of his portable husktop that followed.   
   
You and Gamzee were snuggled up on opposite ends of the couch, but sharing the biggest blanket you could find. The blanket formed a nice tent between your contrasting bodies, hiding the foot was rubbing your calf.   
   
It only takes a minute for Gamzee to reach his long arm forward and take your hand. You glance over your shoulder to make sure Sollux isn’t watching (not that he could see over the back of the couch from where he is, anyways) before you grip his in return. It was at best a little uncomfortable, but shifting your positions would most definitely make Sollux look your way. Gamzee starts to rub small circles in your palm with his thumb as your face is painted red again. You offer a soft smile before pulling your hand back into your sleeve and sinking further into the warmth of the blanket.  
   
That was the last movie you guys watched that night. When it was over, you rose up and stretched. You took the empty bowl that once contained popcorn (humans are innovative, you thought when you first had some) to the kitchen, where you saw Sollux still sitting in front of the screen.  
   
“That’s not good for your eyes, you know.” He only grunts at you in response. You shut the lid closed, knowing any work will still be there, and you lean down to his level like you would talk to a child. Gamzee pretends not to notice. “Sollux, come on. You’ve been working all day and I know your eyesight is getting worse.” You didn’t want him blinded, for Jegus sake. You take off his glasses, noticing a dampness on the frame, and look him in the eyes. They’re puffy, from tears, you assume.  
   
“It hurtsth.”  
   
‘”I know.”  
   
He stares at you but doesn’t protest when you place two hands on his shoulders and help him up. Much the same way that you carried Gamzee, you help him to his room and make sure he gets in bed. “It’s late,” you say, “try to sleep. I’ll do something about it tomorrow, I promise.” You turn off the light and shut the door.  
   
“I’m sorry about your palebro over there, Kar.”  
   
“We’re not pale.”  
   
“He might need that right now.” You suppose he’s right. You debate waking him up, if he’s even sleeping at all, to go ask. You can’t say the thought of being pale has never crossed your mind.   
   
“Go on,” Gamzee encourages you, waving his head towards Sollux’s room. “I’ll wait.” Even you were surprised when you gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before rising. 


	6. Chapter 6

There were soft sobbing sounds coming from his room. You hesitate before knocking gently on his door. You hear a very faint moan from him and take it as sign to enter. You shut the door behind you to reassure him of the privacy. He’s wrapped up in his own blanket cocoon, his back facing you and his head buried in a pillow he’s clutching like his life depended on it. You sit on his bed and scoot by him. His form rises and falls in erratic movements, his breath hitching as he cries. You place your hand on the lump, judging your position as mid-back, and rub firm comforting circles. It takes a while before his breathing returns to normal.

“Sollux, I’m sorry.” You choose gentle words, despite your seething anger towards Eridan. “I don’t want you hurting.”

“It’th not my fault!”. Defensive when he’s hurt, you remember.

“I know it’s not your fault.” You reach over and pap his face. This is enough calming for him to be able to sit up. Yellow tinted tears streaming down his face, you gently rub his shoulder. “It’s going to be okay.” You really don’t know what to say, besides how angry you are at that stupid fucking sea-dweller. You’re mostly silent.

Sollux leans into you when you gently nudge him, his head buried in your chest. You hold him softly and carefully as he cries, your fingers brushing through his hair. You figure if you’re ever going to bring it up, it’s going to be now. When you take an extra deep breath, he pulls an inch away from you and looks up at your face, questioning if he did something wrong.

“No, no,” you assure him. “I just... I…” you stutter and stammer, hesitating because you’re afraid this is a really bad time. But you trust Sollux, so you take a bit to calm down. “I want to be pale with you. You know; moirails. If you want. We don’t, uh, have to.” You start to drabble on. Sollux gets wide-eyed, which scares you very much until he nods and throws his arms around you.

Burying his head back in your chest, he mumbles, “It better not be becauthe of Eridan.”

You assure him that no, you really do feel pale for him. For a moment just now you believe that you do.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> this is one of the longer chapters. tw for the violence.

This night, you sleep slightly closer to Gamzee. You notice that he heats up considerably during the night and it doesn’t seem to bother him. Personally, it makes you want to snuggle up close because the rain is tapping your window and the wind is howling outside. You think he’s asleep, but you’ve been awake so long thinking about poor Sollux and your now flushed crush on the stupid clown beside you.

His back is to you as you’re on your back, staring up into the darkness at your ceiling. Your thoughts are quieter than they were when you first lied down. You slowly edge your hand towards his warmth. Your mind and body freezes, your eyes shoot wide, because somehow you’ve managed to be a gigantic idiot wriggler and you touched his back and now he’s stirring and oh god oh god no.

You must have got off lucky, because he only grunted, half-aware that there was even something beside him. You close your eyes and fake sleep. But now Gamzee is rolling over and oh shit you’re a moron. He doesn’t open his eyes, but if he did he would see you ‘sleeping’, so maybe it was going to fine after all. But now he’s lacing his fingers through yours and you two are chest-to-chest and oh fuck this is nice.

You don’t want to risk moving and not that you wanted to, anyways, so you stay still and listen to the sound of his breathing. You can feel yourself start to sleep, finally, and it doesn’t take long for you to slip under.

The night only permitted a few more hours of sleep before the dawn was streaming through your curtains. You shift in bed, feeling nothing beside you. You start to panic. You get out of bed much faster than you should, and you fall to the floor. You’re searching desperately around the room because where did he go? You know he can get himself into all sorts of trouble, you’ve seen where he was living. Your eyes spot a note taped to the door.

“Bro, I didn’t wanna all up and wake ya. I’ve gone to go meet a friend. I’ll come back soon, I promise.”

A few words were misspelled, but you could still read it. You could feel your heart return to a normal rhythm as you set the note on your dresser. You pull on an oversized hoodie to cover your bare chest and head out to the kitchen. God, you’re tired. 

Sollux wasn’t there when you got to the kitchen, though he usually was. You figured he was still in his room. You sigh, realizing that maybe you do feel pale for him because all you want to do is go make sure he’s okay. Opting for hot chocolate over coffee, you pour two mugs (double the chocolate in his, because he seems to need it). You carry them carefully to his door and kick three times, gently, to knock. 

Sollux grunts. You’re not sure if you’ve woken him up, but it’s 10:30am and he’s usually up at eight. He’s still in a cocoon made of his quilt. You set the mugs down on the bedside table and unwrap him. It’s a tedious process because he doesn’t move to help you but you manage. You lift the blankets high above your head and gently lower them to straighten them out. 

Sollux is still on his left side, facing the wall. You sit him up against the headboard, using a pillow to brace his back. You can see his head turning slightly to follow you around the room. Now you’re turning on the TV that’s mounted to his wall, tossing the remote to where you will sit. He flinches, you apologize. Wait, his glasses! He can’t see what you’re doing and it’s scaring him. You spin 360, doing a sweep of his room before you locate them on the dresser and bring them over to him, placing them carefully on his face.

“There you go,” you comfort him. He offers the smallest smile you can possibly register in your thinkpan. You go back to what you were doing; you shut his bedroom door and sit on the bed beside him. You hand him his mug of hot chocolate, making sure he’s holding it before you let it go or else there would most certainly be a disaster. “Careful, Captor. It’s hot.”

He brings it to his lips, blowing gently so it doesn’t spill everywhere, and takes a small sip. You do the same but keep your eyes fixed on him. Your plan seems to have worked, because he visibly relaxes a little. You sit next to him, mirroring his posture, and you grab the remote. Flipping through the channels, you watch his face between them to see what registers as interesting. 

You settle on some technology channel. You don’t complain and let him watch. It’s even starting to interest you, and now you’re starting to understand Sollux a bit more. He finished his mug slower than you, but when he does you take it from him and set it next to yours. He sinks back into the headboard, eyes on the TV. You reach over him and lean him on your shoulder, arm draped over his to hold him tight. He purrs much the same that you did when Gamzee hugged you. 

You glance up at the clock when you hear the sound of knocking on the front door. You roll the width of the bed before you swing your legs over the edge and stand. You stretch and walk through the halls, only then remembering that Gamzee didn’t have a key and you had locked the door while waiting for the kettle to boil this morning.

“Sorry I took so long, my most wicked of brothers.”

“Who did you go see?” You question, trying to sound as non-threatening as possible because you truly didn’t mind, but you were worried and when you were worried you had a bad habit of sounding very angry. 

“Just my ancestor. It’s nothing big.”

You assumed he was a safe guy. After all, your own was fairly safe (too safe, if you’d ask yourself). Then it dawned on you – why not get Sollux’s ancestor over here while you go to find Eridan? He would most certainly find a way to cheer him up since he was such a chill guy. You pick up your phone, calling Mituna. And of course he had nothing going on and he’d be here in five minutes. Which, from experience, you knew meant 15 minutes because he’d fall on his ass a whole bunch on the way here. You set out the first aid kit, inform Sollux, and head out. Gamzee follows, much to your protest.

“So you’re going to go pay Eridan a visit, then?”

“Yeah. More than that. I’m really angry.” You have trouble seething the words through your teeth. Your fists are balled up in your pockets, and for a moment you wonder how this looks to passers-by, an angry short troll and a giant lanky macabre clown marching down the street on an obvious mission, like the world’s most hilarious gang. Actually, Gamzee does resemble a member of a well-known violent street gang. Same horn shape, similar face-paint… but it’s probably just a coincidence. 

You continue down the street until you’re at Eridan’s house. Unlike you and Sollux, he was born into a whole heap of wealth so he can afford his own home. You had to drop Sollux off there plenty of times. You walk up the driveway to the front door, knocking three times and stepping aside, pulling Gamzee with you, so you’re hidden from the view of the peep-hole. When Eridan opens the door, you spin back into view.

“Wvat are you doing here?”

You punch him square in the face, harder than you punched Sollux. He rears back and you invite yourself in, Gamzee shuts the door behind you. You’re usually against unfair fights, but you still kick him while he’s down. After all, he hurt your moirails – and he picked the wrong troll to piss off. You stop after one unfair kick, however, because you aren’t a total brute. 

“Wvat the hell, mutant?” he doesn’t dare scream, but he says it firmly enough, wiping his mouth as if you had drawn blood (it was really his fault, he was the one that had bit his cheek when he fell). 

“What did you do to Sollux?!” you do dare scream, and pinned him by his shirt collar to the ornate wall of his foyer. You shook him once for emphasis. Eridan didn’t respond, only turned his head away from your gaze. You brought your face close to his, extremely close, and repeated your question, punctuating each word this time.

“I told him the truth.”

This idiot and his goddamn riddles. You sigh, exasperated, and look at the floor before beginning to laugh in pure anger. “What truth?” you question, the half of you that doesn’t want to do it agreeing to the half that does purely so you’d have more reason to beat the shit out of him. 

He stays silent for a long time. You wait. He seems to be looking around the room, but you sense he’s not making things up, only finding the courage to say it. You always knew he was a coward. Finally his eyes seem to fix on Gamzee; you wonder if he hadn’t noticed who he was before. He stares at Gamzee and his eyes grow a tiny bit wider. 

“You’re a… Makara?” You turn for a moment to look at Gamzee, and Gamzee only nods to Eridan. You wonder what this Makara thing meant. “How did you wvind up with a Makara, Vantas?”

“What?” He laughs a little at your obvious lack of knowledge about this whole situation. “Fine, I’ll tell you. I told Sollux he wvas nothing to me, it wvas only supposed to be a kismessisitude. Nothing more, nothing red, nothing flushed and nothing special. He wvas nevwer anything more to me, and I nevwer truly cared for - ”

You didn’t let him finish. You slammed him against the wall, denting it. You let him fall and you kicked him, harder each time. He was coughing up that highblood colour, that purple-pink tone you detested so much, and you didn’t care. Visions flashed in your thinkpan of cutting this good-for-nothing hipster douche until his viscera stained his fancy Persian rugs. You didn’t stop kicking him, either, and Gamzee had to pull you away before you killed him. You left before Eridan could even stand up


	8. Chapter 8

You return to a noisy apartment. You figure that yes, Mituna had arrived. You notice some Band-Aids missing from the first aid kit which confirms your suspicion. You set your keys back down and kick off your bloody shoes. You take Gamzee’s arm, leading him to the living room. There you can see Sollux on the couch, controller in hand, next to Mituna who is also holding one. However, Mituna is perched not on the couch but on someone.

This troll has messy black hair that’s similar to Gamzee’s, but even more unruly in the most kept way it can be. The horns are taller but similar in shape to Gamzee’s. It finally clicks in your thinkpan. Holy shit Gamzee’s ancestor is this crazy gang leader you’ve heard so much about. Holy shit Sollux’s ancestor is red with this crazy gang leader you’ve heard so much about. Holy shit this crazy gang leader you’ve heard so much about is in your apartment. 

Gamzee himself rushes over to his ancestor. You turn to Sollux and mouth the words “the fuck?” and he just shrugs. He must not know, or he must not care. You walk back over to Gamzee hesitantly, not wanting to get too close to this new troll. Mituna greets you eagerly, and introduces his partner as Kurloz.

You fight back your fear, and awkwardly extend your hand. Kurloz’s gloved hand takes yours with a practiced grace, shaking it twice. He’s looking you in the eyes as you stare, unknowingly, taking in his face paint. Holy fucking shit this guy sewed his mouth shut. He’s a badass, but one you have to take caution around.

He lets go of your hand and makes weird, erratic movements to Gamzee. Gamzee watches carefully as you stand beside him, perplexed. Gamzee only goes “uh-huh,” nodding and he takes your hand. Kurloz smiles and claps in a way that a child would when they are particularly pleased with something. Who the hell was this guy?

Gamzee turns to you and explains that Kurloz asked if you two were red. Things start to fall into place, and you guess you really are red now. Kurloz smiles at you, slightly, and you wouldn’t have been able to tell had it not been for his face paint or the slight strain in the stitches on the corners. You smile back nervously. Gamzee strokes your shoulder, as if to reassure you that Kurloz would not harm you.

He begins to sign again and you watch his movements. Gamzee’s translating for you and you only, as the two Captors are engrossed in their video game, Kurloz is informing you that he’s no threat; he’s on your side. And besides, he apparently doesn’t care much for Eridan either. This made you feel better; at least you two had a common enemy.

The next mystery to solve was how the fuck a troll who’s lucky to have even half his thinkpan left and who stumbles around like a grub with three broken legs, who sticks his tongue out and giggles ended up with Kurloz. A good enough bodyguard at least, you imagined. Mituna was bouncing in Kurloz’s lap now, excited about a win. Sollux just looked at you and deadpanned: “Why don’t you get your ancethtor over here too? Have an ancethtor party.”

Kankri was already on his way before you realized he was joking. But it’s alright anyways, because you needed to speak to him, even if he was just going to lecture you about celibacy and responsibility and respect. All things you’ve heard before and will likely hear again, even if not tonight. You answer the door when you hear the typical polite, soft knocks that were barely audible over the sounds of the game.

When you open the door, you see Kankri. Dressed proudly in candy red as usual, something you would prefer to hide behind a mask of anonymity with grey. But your eyes flick slightly to the left, and you notice the same tall, well-built troll with the slicked back hair that you saw at the club. The one that started it all. And he was holding Kankri’s hand.


End file.
